New Pokemon Emerald ROM Hack Released, And It Might Be One of the Most Impressive Fan-Made Games Yet
A new ROM hack for Pokemon Emerald has arrived this week, and it might be one of the most impressive so far. Despite being over 20 years old, Pokemon Emerald has continued to remain incredibly relevant over the past few years thanks to fan-made ROM hacks that have continued to be released. These games haven’t only folded in various mechanics, systems, and Pokemon that were never seen in Emerald, but they’ve also introduced new regions, stories, and music for players to enjoy. And while there’s already a vast number of Pokemon ROM hacks to play, a newly released game has the potential to be one of the best yet.
Coming by way of FlatFoot Labs, Pokemon Wishes of Tomorrow is the latest ROM hack for Emerald to have come about. Like many other fan-made projects, Wishes of Tomorrow folds in all of the various Pokemon from Generations 1 through 9 while also telling an original narrative. The game’s story, which primarily centers around Jirachi, sees players traversing across an original region to take on new foes who wish to use Jirachi’s power for themselves. Not only does Wishes of Tomorrow come with more modern features like Mega Evolutions, but it also creates new Emerald-style sprites for these newer Pokemon that were never seen in the original game.
“When Jirachi, the Undying Wish, awakens from its thousand-year slumber to grant a single wish, you’re not the only one racing toward its promised power,” says the game’s description. “A mysterious faction led by a gold-masked Oni emerges from the shadows, determined to seize Jirachi’s wish for their own sinister ambitions. Witness Mega Power. Capture Darkness. Seek the promised land of Shin-Tokyo. The wish is waiting. Will you be the one to claim it?”
Perhaps the most unique aspect of Pokemon: Wishes of Tomorrow is that it also features the Snag mechanic. This feature is one that was seen in Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness on Nintendo GameCube and would allow players to capture “Shadow” Pokemon that could then be purified to join their team. Numerous Shadow Pokemon are heavily featured within Wishes of Tomorrow and are warned to “hit harder, defend worse, and can snap into Hyper Mode.” With this in mind, Wishes of Tomorrow may also be one of the most difficult Pokemon ROM hacks to come about in recent months.
Not only was Pokemon Wishes of Tomorrow fully revealed this week, but the ROM hack is also available to download now. In full, Wishes of Tomorrow is said to only last around four to eight hours in length, which means it shouldn’t command a ton of your time. If you’re looking to learn more about this latest Pokemon fan project and how to play it for yourself, you can find all of the details right here.